Indigenous parents spruik HIPPY living down south

Geraldine Stewart (left) and Sarah Carmody (right) travelled down from Alice Springs for the launch of the Albury HIPPY tutoring site on 31st January 2014. Both women say becoming HIPPY tutors changed the lives of them and their families. (ABC Goulburn Murray:Nick Fogarty)

A specialised early learning program is set to help disadvantaged children in Albury-Wodonga prepare for their first year of school.

The federally-funded Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY) program helps parents tutor their pre-school aged children at home.

Albury-Wodonga is one of 25 new HIPPY locations along the eastern seaboard, following on the heels of 50 existing locations around the country and more overseas.

The new sites will have a focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Federal Member for Farrer, Sussan Ley, launched the Albury site on Friday morning at the Koori Kindermanna Preschool.

Tony Nicholson was also there as executive director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, which manages the program.

Indigenous HIPPY tutors Geraldine Stewart and Sarah Carmody travelled down from Alice Springs for the launch.

Ms Stewart became a HIPPY tutor for her grandchildren after their mother died.

She said the program had a fantastic effect on her and her family.

"They were a bit shy at the beginning because two of them had no English," she said.

"Once I took them in and they started interacting with other kids and other families and things, after that they just excelled.

"Now they're you know like in grade two and three and they're just winning awards and stuff like that now, you can't stop them girls."

Sarah Carmody was running a playgroup with her sons but "felt like playgroup wasn't enough."

"It was just a lot of play, we did arts and crafts activities but I was looking for something more formal," she said.

"It's mind-blowing knowing that my son, with HIPPY, HIPPY is across the world, he's done activities that four year olds are doing across the world.

"And now he's doing really well and winning awards at school."

Hear more from Geraldine Stewart and Sarah Carmody in the audio player.